I wonder how close you are planting them ... the soil good? Do you buy or raise your own plants? Last year I had the same prob on one row. They were too close and it was too dry and hot for them. When the weather cooled off, boom, here came the blooms. I pick off any 'first' peppers that come. Remember that the plant's goal is to propagate seed and once that's done, it thinks its job is done. Peppers only die because they get frosted.... they last for years in warm climates. Are these big green peppers, they are usually late. Just some thoughts.

I was reading the labels of my seed packets as I started my pepper seeds yesterday. It said they like potassium, and that to much nitrogen will grow big lush plants with little fruiting.

Could that be the problem?

I have never had great luck with Bell peppers, but Anaheim types and hot peppers put out lots of fruit for me.

Ive always bought seedlings but this year I would like to grow them from a seed. They are plated kinds close together and my soil probally isnt the best but why do my tomato plants do SO well. I use lime and fertilizer.

Ive always bought seedlings but this year I would like to grow them from a seed. They are plated kinds close together and my soil probally isnt the best but why do my tomato plants do SO well. I use lime and fertilizer.

Sorry but that really doesn't tell us much. Why lime? Is your soil pH really acidic? Lots of lime can really screw up your soil. How close planted specifically? You said you are in NJ so which zone there? What brand/type of fertilizer and how often do you apply it? How to you water them and how often. How many hours of sun do they get? Are they shaded by the tomatoes or the house or trees?

Peppers are a bit more difficult to grow than tomatoes, much more selective about planting time, soil temps, sun exposure, air temp, nutrients and the timing of feedings, and watering. So comparing them to tomato growth doesn't provide you with accurate info.

They require later planting for warmer soil and air temps than tomatoes. Need more sun exposure. Spacing is very important to them. So is cool roots so heavy mulching helps them. They prefer to dry out between watering and they don't tolerate high N fertilizers well once the plant is well established.

We really need more details and you might also want to do some reading over on the Peppers forum here too. it is called Hot peppers but covers all varieties.

Dave

Most important, what type of pepper? Bell peppers just don't produce that many fruit, so your expectations might be too high and everything else fine.

Which I say in addition to everyone else's good advice. :)

I will tell you what the problem is. I have been gardening for 40+ years. People that have nice pepper plants but few peppers are over fertilizing them. What I tell you next must be done to get a big crop of peppers. On all peppers, when you first plant them, only give them 1 teaspoon of fertilizer like 10x10x10 or something equivalent. Then when the peppers start blooming give them 1 more teaspoon. After that don't give them any more fertilizer. Peppers don't need much fertilizer at all. If you give them too much all you will get is a big pretty plant. Give this a try and let me know how it worked out for you.

I plant them with about half a banana mixed up the surrounding soil and that's it for added fertilizer. Otherwise, just make sure they get lots of sun and not too much or too little water.

I agree with earlier post.. I struggled with peppers till I quit using so much nitrogen... now great production... I dig a hole at least a month or more ahead of planting and fill it with a 50/50 mix of my garden soil and compost (horse manure and straw), at planting time I put in a hand full of fish bone meal and work it in for each plant, when blooms start another shovel full of compost and a little more fish bone meal are top dressed around each plant and I usually start mulching due to the heat at that time. Hope this helps some...

Ok sorry I didnt give much info. Im new to this stuff and not very good at it thats why I came here. My plants are behind my house so they get sun in th emorning til probally 1. I have them planted about a foot and half apart in 2 rows. I only use lime once in the beginning when I til the ground up. After that I use I think 101010 like twice.

Oh and these are bell and some kind of hot pepper usually jalepenos or cow horn peppers and its the same result. Think they arent getting enough sun? I dont use much fertilizer at all. Water them maybe 2 or 3 times a week. I have 2 long rows behind my house with peppers and tomatos. I run a long soaker hose between them and just turn my faucet on. Ive tried planting cucumbers and squash too that didnt grow very well either. But my tomatoes grow like crazy.

If they are only getting sun from morning until 1, I don't think they are getting enough sun. Peppers really need full sun, which is all day long sun.

I agree that it is most likely lack of sun. Can it be increased? And perhaps a little heavy on the fertilizer but no way to know for sure without knowing more about how you use it. I use more than a teaspoon for sure, a handful mixed in very well deep in the planting hole when planting. Tomatoes will tolerate excess fertilizer but not peppers.

Your plant spacing is probably ok. I prefer 2 feet so It could be increased but 1 1/2' will do.

And take care with the watering. Do it when the plant needs it which isn't always a regular schedule. 2-3 times a week can easily be too much sometimes depending on the weather.

Water the plants deeply. Then learn to stick your finger deep into the soil to check for moisture and don't water again until the soil finger-deep is dry. And mulch the plants well.

Dave

PS: a banana!?! Now that's a new one.

I get the best results from peppers when I do pretty much nothing to them. I stick them in the ground - my soil is good - mulch heavily and then let 'em be. I water them every couple of weeks in the absence of rain, no fertilizer. I am in a very different zone from you, though. I grow yellow and red bells and, like you, also usually get a second harvest in the fall.

Does everyone use mulch just to keep moisture in? I never used mulch but the weeds get to be too much after a while. I was thinking of using thick plastic this year to keep weeds down. Does it matter what kind of mulch?

All mulches will help keep in whatever moisture is in the soil, but some are better at letting water in than others. Plastic can help warm your soil so you could plant a little earlier if you put it down beforehand. Mulches tend to be multi-purpose. I use mine to suppress weeds (it needs to block light), to retain moisture, and to add organic matter into the soil (plastic is not a good choice there). Last year I had good results with cardboard covered by a thin layer of hay. Well, thin on the walkways, thicker around the veggies. I tried plastic once, but decided it wasn't for me- it was ugly, I had to remove it at the end of the season, and in doing so I found that it was really attractive to black widows (more of a regional problem). Those are all personal preferences.

Does everyone use mulch just to keep moisture in?

Not at all. There are lots of different "mulches". Plastic isn't normally considered a mulch as all it does is warm soil and suppress weeds. But it can also cook the roots once the soil temps rise if it isn't removed or covered.

Common mulches - organic materials that not only suppress weeds, warm and/or cool the soil as needed, retain and stabilize soil moisture, and, most importantly, improve the soil at the same time as they decompose are things like straw, hay, grass clippings, pine straw, shredded leaves, compost, even multiple layers of newspapers or cardboard.

There is no reason to have bare, exposed soil in a garden.

Just type 'mulch' into the search bar here for 100's of discussions about them.

Dave

Man I just threw out all my shredded leaves too! I can really use hay or paper as it get really windy here. So you guys say plastic is a bad idea? I have a sheet of clear plastic. I was planning on laying over the soil after I get it tilled then cut out small circles for th eplants. I need something to cut down on the weeds as they get out of control and I cant keep up with them.

Man I just threw out all my shredded leaves too! I can really use hay or paper as it get really windy here. So you guys say plastic is a bad idea? I have a sheet of clear plastic. I was planning on laying over the soil after I get it tilled then cut out small circles for th eplants. I need something to cut down on the weeds as they get out of control and I cant keep up with them.

Shredded leaves are garden gold! If you don't want them there is bound to be a neighbor gardener who would love to have them.

Hay and shredded paper mat down well once good and wet so wind isn't usually a problem for them except when first laid down. Straw doesn't mat down as well but it is usually laid down in thick layers so it tends to stay in place.

You still are not including your zone location in your posts - note how we all have our zone location in our posts - so I don't know what effect using clear plastic would have on your soil. Here soil temps will easily rise to over 120 degrees or more under clear. Kills plant roots quickly.

If you want to use plastic use black landscape fabric that has holes in it so that water can get is and the heat can get out.

Linked a bunch of mulch discussions below and there is a whole forum here called Soil & Mulch.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Mulch discussions

Sorry. Im in SOuth Jersey 08079.

Here you go. New jersey has 3 very different gardening zones. This NJ map will help you determine which gardening zone you are in.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: New Jersey Gardening zones

Dave, the bananas are for potassium and phosphorus. Some people throw a peel in a blender and use that or they just make sure that's part of their compost. I prefer the direct route and just use the banana itself and let is compost itself near the plant. I don't do roses, but I think they like bananas too.

Looks like Im in zone 7a, What does this mean?

Plastic = bad. (IMO anyway.) Plastic in zone 7 = potentially berry, berry bad.

Panteramatt, what your zone means for this discussion is that your soil likely never freezes in the winter, so the value of plastic in the spring (to warm up the soil) isn't really needed. Mulch, as other posters have said, will suppress the weeds you have ... and if you're going to suppress weeds, might as well do it with something that is a gift to your soil. Cardboard is dirt cheap, so is newspaper ... and so are the bags of leaves this mulch/compost junkie picks up on the side of the road from my neighbors who don't know what they're throwing away. :)

Ok great. Ill use the leaves I have left then grass clippings as they become available. So back to the peppers. Do they need more sun? And what I take from whats been said here is that they need very little fertilizer? Does this go for squash and cucumbers also?

To summarize what's been said, peppers do not grow exactly like tomatoes. They need more heat, more sun, but less water to produce a good crop and are less tolerant of excess fertilizer. You should not expect too many bell peppers, but could get a reasonable number of jalapenos in a season if all things are adequate for the plants.

More sun sounds like the main thing needed in your situation. They must be on the east side of your house from your description, so try planting them as far out from the house as you can to maximize the sun. Or consider moving them around front to the west side. Afternoon sun is hotter and might help things along better. It doesn't sound like you go crazy with the fertilizer, but I don't know your soil's native fertility.

A word on mulches: read up about how to use them, you need a fairly thick layer of loose material to block the sun adequately, or else you need to combine with a layer of something like cardboard to prevent weeds. Mulch does have the benefit of making weeds easier to pull if some manage to sneak in there.

I can't tell you about the squash and cucumbers, I don't grow the one and the other I tend to let fall to the wayside as summer progresses since they aren't favorite. Cheers!

Good summary sunnibel. I think the original questions have been answered in detail.

panteramatt - I think you need to do some basic gardening research and the web is full of such info. A discussion forum such as this cannot teach you everything you need to know.

Learn what knowing your gardening zone means, all the information it provides to you. Google 'garden zone 7a'.

Google 'how to grow ________ (name of vegetable)' for specific information on each crop.

Use the search button here to pull up all the previous discussions on each of your questions. Check out the Soil & Mulch forum and the Pumpkins & Squash forum too.

And no, the same info on fertilizer does NOT apply to squash and cukes. Different crops have different needs but that is a whole different discussion.

Dave

I am in complete agreement with digdirt. My motto: "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." - Francis Bacon. There are many 'garden advice' sites out there, but here on GardenWeb, there is a population of folks always willing to help a newbie with good advice. Reach out and touch the info... and of course we're always ready to 'riff'. After my 40 years of being 'eaten up' with growing, you have the opportunity even in South Jersey :)--- to be drawn into watching, learning, and being absorbed by what the plants want and need. At least one thing does well every year, but not everything. More than the veggies, it's an introduction to the 'zen' of life. Gosh, I'm waxing poetic. After 40 years, I am still learning, but it is a great ride. You'll do fine. I'm sure of it.

Agree with Dave's comment about shredded leaves being "garden gold". In fact, non-shreaded leaves might considered "garden silver". Collecting bagged leaves during fall months placed at curb-side has been a regular ritual ...

But, would also like to add a plug for black plastic ... I find it can be used effectively for strawberries, cantelope & watermelon, & summer squash; everything else gets leaf mulch. Landscape fabric would no doubt be better but does have a higher cost. (The Louisiana commercial strawberry growers use black plastic when planting their strawberry fields during the fall.)

This post was edited by grandad on Tue, Mar 12, 13 at 14:39

You got your answer the magic word is less nitrogen

I'm not sure what little I've found to work for me would help the original poster given their light, growing conditions, etc.... I am FAR from an expert.

This is just some FYI of what's worked for me. I've been growing bell peppers now for about 4 years. The soil is clay-based but has been ammended some every year and the dirt is nice, crumbly and slightly moist when you stick a shovel in to turn the soil and dig the planting hole. The first year the peppers just did okay. I kept reading how they LOVE heat and sun. Perhaps this is contrary to most info out there but I've found, at least in the South when summer temps are frequently in the mid nineties or higher that they benefit from some kind of shade cloth during the hot afternoon hours. I drape a row of burlap overtop of the plants supported by wire cages. They never suffer from afternoon wilt and the peppers have been much larger and more abundant. The plants are larger and seem "happier". I also began spraying the leaves once with epsom salts when they start to blossom and once again when the fruits are dime sized. I read this somewhere online. In addition I started fertilizing them with Tomato Tone about half as often as I do the tomatoes.

I couldn't tell you if it's any one of these things or all of them but my peppers have been doing wonderfully ever since (knock on wood). I used soaker hoses the first several years then switched to drip irrigation last year. Both methods seemed about the same with respect to plant growth and production although the drip irrigation is more water efficient since it doesn't water the dirt in between plants.

Just my two or three cents.
Good luck with your peppers this year!

Thank you all for your help its really helping me understand more. So Ive decided to move the peppers to the side of my house where they will get sun all day and just keep my tomatoes at the back of my house. So let me know if this will work. Im planning on making a raised bed from landscaping ties and filling it with topsoil. I will use lime and work it into the soil. Then plant the seedlings and cover with leaves. Water about twice a week unless theres rain and add fertilizer when they are about half grown.

Squirrelypete makes a good point that many of our terms are relative. What I consider a hot day is rarely experienced up north where I grew up (and they would all melt like a Dali painting), but would probably rate as a warm spring afternoon in Louisiana.

Your plan sounds alright, but I'm curious about the lime and the arbitrary twice a week watering. Why do you want to add lime? Watering twice a week may be needed in the hottest part of summer but be excessive earlier and later. Also, if you get a couple of afternoon showers that only amount to .1 inch of rain each but decide to forego watering "because it rained", you may find yourself with very thirsty plants. Oh, and where is your mulch? :)

I think of gardening as being like good cooking- the rules and recipes are just guidelines no matter how they may be written to sound like law. They are just to give you an idea of what you need to do, but you will have to tweak it to be just right for you. Cheers!

I'm new to vegetable gardening and have had help from my dad who lives nearby and doesn't grow anything he can't eat (if he can help it). He's been gardening for 40+ years and suggested I add a couple of spoonfuls of Epsom salts to water in a sprayer and spray my pepper plants for increased production and healthier fruits.

I stopped growing Peppers because I was just not getting enough sun but I have cleared part of my yard and hope to move my garden to a very sunny spot next year.

My question is: Is it ok to still hit your peppers every few weeks with Neptune's Harvest or does this fall into the "Too much Nitrogen category"?